The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

Latest Blog Posts: Children's (page 5)

Those of you who follow picture books closely may remember the anguished cries of early 2013 when the Caldecott Award winners were announced and Kelly Bingham’s Z Is for Moose, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, wasn’t mentioned. To be sure, children’s literature shouldn’t always be about awards, not to mention the fact that pretty much nothing could take away the book’s greatness. But all that’s to say that the inventive and very funny ABC story of a moose, who had ...

It’s a good thing when Bob Shea and Lane Smith collaborate. The last time they did so was in 2008 with Big Plans, which Bob wrote and Lane illustrated. They also created a blog called Curious Pages (“recommended inappropriate books for kids”), which celebrates subversive picture books and which I love with an undying devotion. It’s rarely updated, which is fine—hey, I’m sure they’re busy guys—and I just keep crossing fingers that it never goes away. And if it ever ...

I love to keep my eye on picture book imports, those books originally published overseas and then brought here in American editions. It’s always intriguing to note which ones are chosen for English translations, what they’re like, and how they differ from American picture book titles.

One of the best I’ve seen this year was just released by Henry Holt and Company, The Storm Whale by Benji Davies, who evidently lives in London. In fact, this book was first published ...

In the Author’s Note of her new picture book, Firebird, ballet dancer Misty Copeland notes that when she read ballet books as a child, she didn’t see herself. “I saw an image of what a ballerina should be, and she wasn’t me, brown faced.” Firebird is her attempt to change that, to give children one more ballet book featuring people of color. There simply aren’t many of these books on shelves.

There are, on any given day, many new picture books about children making their way, as well as picture books about music. But today I want to highlight two new ones that are about both. One is fiction—Chieri Uegaki’s Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin, illustrated by Qin Leng. And the other is a picture book biography, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, written by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illustrated by Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award winner Frank Morrison.

Know any budding young photographers? There are two new children’s books on shelves, both which happen to be from Candlewick Press (which means they’re well-designed), aimed at young readers interested in learning more about photography and its history.

Susan Goldman Rubin brings readers a biography of photographer Julia Margaret Cameron in a book titled Stand There! She Shouted. (“Stand there!” was a demand Cameron often placed on her subjects.) Sumptuously illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline and meticulously researched, it’s a ...

I’ve heard more than one person say lately—because I like to read about picture books and about both those who make and those who appreciate them—that it’s hard to believe anyone would complain about the cost of a picture book. A price tag of, say, $17.99 might seem like a lot for a book, but as these people noted, in many instances you’re getting to see true works of art in the illustrated pages. (Many but not all instances ...

I’m doing something different this week. I normally write about picture books, but the events in Ferguson, Missouri, have weighed heavy on my mind, as they have for many Americans. At his site this week, professor and children’s literature scholar Philip Nel shared his thoughts on Ferguson. He writes about, for one, the despair he feels over this country’s structural racism and how the events in Ferguson generated a singular impression of anguish he struggles to articulate. His thoughts resonated ...

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